Always With You
by Blackwater Crazziii
Summary: Throughout her life, her father has always been there. A story about Kaname's daughter.


**A/N: Let's just assume Kaname got **_**some**_** of his memories back when he woke up okay. **

It was perhaps when she was the human equivalent of three that she first asked about her father. With a small tug on the bottom of her mother's dress, the tiny Pureblood asked the simple question of "Why don't I have a daddy?", earning a choked sob and tight embrace from her now crying mother.

It was after a full 20 minutes that the tears stopped flowing and the little girl questioned her mother no more; she was too young to notice the ghost-like touch upon her head at that moment in time.

The next time she spoke of her father, she was in her adolescence and this time spoke to her favourite uncle, Takuma Ojii-Sama. Asking the single question of "Where is my father?", the young girl was met with a momentary silence and a sad smile. It was then that Takuma rose from his chair and led his best friend's daughter to a vaulted room within his mansion.

Once inside, the girl saw her father for the first time. In a case of ever-frozen ice, she almost thought he looked divine; as though God had wished to preserve his beauty for the eons to come. But she knew that wasn't true. God had nothing to do with her father tearing his own heart out to make a safer world for her mother.

Not once removing her eyes from the man in ice, she asked the question "What was he like?", and listened to her uncle's tales of a conflicted man, loyal friend, and benevolent lover.

Some time after Takuma's fifth story, she realised that, though she stood in front of a wall of ice, she could feel nothing but an enveloping warmth coming from the centre of the coffin.

Once having reached her teen years, the young Kuran began to visit her father once a month with neither her mother nor anyone else to accompany her; it was then, and only then, that she finally felt comfortable enough to speak aloud to him without feeling a fool with others around her.

Her talks would range all the way from the observational "We have the same wavy hair", to the more sentimental "I've been practicing chess so that we can play together when you wake up". Whatever the subject, she would always see a faint smile on her father's face, and even feel a slight breeze run through her hair.

By the time her mother had finally decided to move on with her life and begin a relationship with Zero Kiryu, the Kuran princess was practically an adult. But that still didn't stop her from acting like a child when she found out.

Her mother had brought him in, into the house that, for the longest time, had only been home to Kurans, and together they sat her down and told her about their relationship. At the end of their speech, a deafening silence entered the room, only to be broken by the shattering of windows and cracking of walls.

The young woman ran from home, heading to the only other place she knew as sanctuary. Having been sat in front of the ice coffin for what must have been at least two hours, it took a gentle hand on her shoulder to bring her back to reality. Looking up into the pale blue eyes of her Uncle, the only other Vampire to carry the same Kuran blood as her and her mother, she let a single tear roll down her face.

Jumping into her Uncle's arms, she wondered if this is what her father's embrace would have felt like. "I know I shouldn't be upset. I didn't know him; Zero's not replacing anyone..." Her voice finally began to crack, "I just keep hoping that he'll wake up tomorrow or the next day after that though."

Senri could only stroke her back as she sobbed into his chest, and the young woman could only sob harder as she felt a warm pressure pushing her in the direction of the door.

When she returned home, she was met with a bone crushing hug and jumbled apologies from her mother. And as much as it pained her to let go of her dream that her father would wake up and reunite with his lover and daughter, it pained her even more to be a cause of her mother's grief.

It was because of that, that the princess allowed Zero into her home; allowed him into her life and, eventually, into her heart. No matter how moody like her Uncle Senri she may be, she was not cold. It was only a matter of time before she came to call Zero father. And she felt a traitor every time she did it, regardless of the warmth that would surround her whenever her guilt became too much.

Eventually her younger brother was born and, whilst she loved him dearly, she was certainly envious of him too.

He would most likely never come to realise just how lucky he was. To have his real father there for him at the beginning of his life, and to be able to see both his parents alive and well together... Yes, the young woman was most definitely envious.

And it only became worse when she started to notice that same unique warmth that would surround her and her mother, surround the boy too. She wasn't stupid, she knew by now what that warmth was. And though she cared for and loved her brother deeply, it irked her that the one thing she had of her own father had to be shared with one who already had his own.

It was only whilst speaking to her Aunt Ruka that she understood why his presence surrounded him. "Zero has spent many years protecting you in your father's absence... It's only fair that Kaname offer the same protection to his child as well."

It was after that, that the girl began to spend more time with her brother. When with him, it was almost as if she could feel her father's presence twice as strong.

Centuries later, her step-father had already passed away and her mother was ready to awaken her father. She had never felt so conflicted in her life.

On the one hand, she cried heavy tears for the sacrifice that her mother would make, and on the other, she would smile in preparation for meeting the father she'd been waiting all her life for. It was as though her happiness could only ever reach half its capacity, for she was destined to live with only one parent all her life and to only see them together whilst one of them was either unconscious, or shattering to pieces.

And so it was with a stoic face that she walked with her mother and brother to her father's coffin for the last time.

In mere seconds it was over, her mother's life was over. And yet she did not cry, for all her tears had already been shed. Instead, whilst her and her brother had those few moments alone before her father woke up, they remembered their mother's smiling face, and how her eyes were filled with love as she stared down at the sleeping man.

It was then that he began to awake, and their mother's message was to be relayed; how she managed to speak without stumbling was beyond her. With eyes just like hers and a voice as gentle as her mother's touch, the young Kuran was in awe of the man in front of her.

"It's time to go home now, father." It was the utter conflict in his eyes that she had never been prepared for.

With memories of his beloved running through his mind, it had been difficult for him to accept that she had sacrificed herself in order to awaken him. And yet, the strong emotions and self-loathing that had come to be second nature to him were not there. The beast within him that would often amplify whatever negative emotions he felt was no longer there and no longer existed. And so natural, healthy grief consumed him instead.

But every now and then, he would sense a strange feeling. One he had not felt for many, many years now... Paternal love. Sometimes, whilst sitting in his room, or learning about the new world he lived in, he would feel something. Something between concern, alertness, love and adoration. And it would always occur when he knew the young girl, with a likeness much like his own, was watching him.

One day, he called her to him after feeling her gaze on his back and his love for her in his heart. She stepped forward timidly, staying close to the wall as though it would hide her form if necessary, leaving the older man to close the distance between them.

"Every day you watch me, and yet every day you say nothing. Is it because you hate me?" For what else could it be he thought? He had missed her birth, her growth, her birthdays, her achievements, everything that made her who she was; how could he possibly repent for that?

"I've waited all my life to meet you, how could I hate you? When I needed someone to help me, before anyone else, your spirit would soothe me." A teardrop falls. "When I felt lost and afraid, it was you who guided me." Three teardrops fall. "When I was scared at night and cried for my father, it was your warmth that enveloped me." More and more teardrops fall. "So how? How could you ask 'do you hate me'?!"

Fast and constant tears ran down the girl's face now and finally, after a thousand years of waiting, Kaname wrapped his arms around his daughter and held her close.

Feeling his daughter return his embrace, a lone tear ran down his cheek, and he whispered the words his daughter had so longed to hear from him.

"I love you."

**A/N: I suck at dialogue so the ending is my least favourite part of this fic ¬_¬ But I hope you all liked it regardless ^_^ Review please :3 **


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